


As We Knew It

by SimplySaraD



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe-Zombie Apocalypse, F/M, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-20
Updated: 2013-09-01
Packaged: 2017-12-12 09:22:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/809962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplySaraD/pseuds/SimplySaraD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The infection broke out five years ago and Paige has been stuck in a camp the whole time. When she makes a run for it after an attack she meets a group of boys lead by one particularly charming dark haired lad, who may just help to save the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**A/N** I’ve been thinking about this one for a while. There’s a lot of Liam in the first chapter but i swear it’s a Zayn Fic. The title may change because i dont completely love it.

*****

It wasn’t a prolonged thing like we all expected it to be. It literally happened overnight. We just woke up one day and our world was flipped on to its head. No one knew what had caused it nor did they know how to stop it. At first people thought it would eventually wear off but they couldn’t have been more wrong. The infection grew worse and worse as it continued to spread. The first people that got it weren’t so anymore. They weren’t people. I watched my mother fall victim to it. I watched her lose her mind and her emotions and any semblance of humanity. Once she was completely afflicted my father had no choice but to shoot her right between the eyes. But that was when I wasn’t sure if it was true that they weren’t human anymore. Because I saw the look in her eyes. Though they weren’t the natural brown that they’d once been I saw my mother’s eyes when my father held her at gun point. She knew what he was going to do. I know she did. No one believes me. The scientists have given up on finding a cure and preach to kill or be killed. That’s what they think happens, you know? That you die when you get infected and something else takes control of your body. The damn scientists think that something supernatural has happened to them all. I’m calling bull shit. I think there’s a cure. They just didn’t try hard enough.

They cancelled school once they realised what was going on. Many of us started training the next day. The crazies came out of the woodwork to teach us all their apocalypse survival strategies because suddenly they weren’t crazy anymore. My father was London police chief so he forced me and my brother, Aiden, into training. He also knew that the training camps were the safest place for us to be. Because they had militia on guard 24/7 so in the event of an attack they could protect us, the only way they knew how.  _Shoot them once in the heart and twice in the head._  That was basically our training motto. Even though I knew it only took one shot between the eyes. But if they’d come back to life once they could do it again, right? So you had to make sure they were dead.

I came to live at the camp when I was 14, I’m now 19 and I haven’t set foot outside of the O2 arena in five years. In that time we’ve been attacked a total of 49 times. We were only attacked twice in the first year. The militia lasted until the attacks became monthly. Once the militia had been killed or infected they started sending out the oldest and strongest of us to stand guard. That’s how my brother died. Well, they say he died. I never saw a body and my dad made sure that every civilian casualty at our camp was examined. And there wasn’t an examination on my brother because they never found his body.

But I still have faith in Aiden. He was fast and smart and he knew how to use a gun. He wouldn’t have let himself get infected. The second he was bitten he would have shot himself because of how much he hated the zombies.  _They killed mum so I’ll kill them_. Even though dad was the one that pulled the trigger. In the last few weeks I had with Aiden he told me this incredible story. He said that there were humans out there, living in the open and defending themselves without the help of militias or training camps. He envied those people so much.

Aiden had spent his year after college travelling the world with plans to go to University the following fall. But things got fucked up and he never went to Uni. He was never one to stay in one place for too long. Even as a child he’d run off and go exploring in the city. So he hated being stuck in the arena all those years. I think he found the rebels and went with them because he had to get out.

Today I requested to be put on to guard duty. Because I’m going stir crazy in this damn arena. I have to get out and see new people and do something other than shoot things that are supposedly already dead. My father was so happy when he heard my request.  _You know how proud I am of you Paige, our family has always been so strong._  Strong-willed he should’ve said. I’m going to find the rebels too. If I can build up the courage to get away from my post I’m going to run as far as I can until I find them or I’m killed.

At this point I’d rather be killed than stay in this place any longer.

*****

It wasn’t raining for once so I sat on the roof, reading something that I would’ve read in school if I’d kept going. Friends that had been guards often said that most days went this way. Nothing would happen. If you were lucky you might see some distant shadow or rustling but rarely did you see an actual zombie. Still you had to keep on alert, always listening and watching the horizon. Because when you weren’t watching, that was when they’d make it close enough for a full on attack to ensue.

“Are you watching, P?” Liam called as he continued his beat below. He paced with his rifle leaned against his shoulder. Liam had been in school with me and we were close in the sense that he always looked out for me. Through the time at the camp he’d grown into quite a man. Though my father hated the idea of romance during all of this, he’d always wanted Liam and I to be together.  _Liam is strong and smart. He’s good with a gun. He’ll protect you if…_ he’d never finish that last sentence. I always assumed he meant if something happened to him. My dad wanted me to be with Liam because he knew that he wouldn’t live forever and Liam was growing up to be a miniature version of him.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my father but ever since the first time he shot one of the afflicted he hasn’t been the same. He is always serious. I know that there isn’t much to be happy about anymore but I haven’t seen my father smile in over four years. That’s one way Liam isn’t like my father. Liam is quick to make a joke and he’s always proper sweet with his genuine grin.

Liam was going to be a singer before everything went to shit. He had real talent but this wasteland is no place for a musician. So he traded his piano for a gun which I believe he used to shoot his dreams away. Every so often I catch him singing to himself and when I do I can’t help but feel a little sad. He could’ve been something big, I know it. But there was no hope for that anymore.

“Mhm.” I replied without looking up. I was wearing what I’d gotten used to wearing these days: A pair of chinos with a loose fitted tank under an old jacket of my fathers and a pair of standard issue military boots. My auburn hair was in a loose braid down the back out of which the front bits had slipped.

“Liar!” He joked though there was the slightest bit of scold to it. Noticing his tone I decided to appease him so I closed my book and slid off the roof, sure to take my own gun with me. Once I was stood next to him I caught him with a curious look on his face, “What are you reading?”

I turned the book over in my hands, loving the feeling of its paperback on my fingertips, “Jane Eyre,” I read the title to him before showing him the cover which he squinted at appreciatively before nodding a bit.

“I love that you still read,” he nudged my shoulder, trying to be playful. He ran a hand through his hair, displaying his tattooed forearm. That was something we’d all started doing at the camp. Everyone above the age of probably 17 had at least one tattoo and most of us knew how to do them as well. One of the women living in the camp had been a tattoo artist and had brought her supplies along. Liam had four arrows, for each of his best friends on his forearm. He hadn’t seen them since the summer before what we like to call z-day which is the day the infection broke out. He had a few others but the arrows were my favourite of his. I had my fair share as well, but my favourite of mine were the stars on the inside of my left arm, for my mother.

I did my best to give a short flirtatious laugh, “I’ve got to do something to make things around here a little more interesting.” Leaning against the wall I looked out at the emptiness that had once served as a car park now actually laughing to myself, “I think I’d rather there be an attack than to just stand around watching.” The thing is that I had a plan. If there was an attack I’d use the confusion to get away. I’d start running which ever direction took me farthest and I doubt I’d look back.

After my comment Liam was hardly playful anymore, “don’t say that, Paige.” He glared at me like I’d said that I had killed his entire family, “You of all people should know how bad an attack can be.” He was referring to Aiden. He took one last look at me before returning to his beat, “Pay attention P.”

I rolled my amber eyes at his orders but still found myself following them. I stuffed my book into a pocket of my jacket and pulled my gun off my back to hold in both hands. It felt like hours or even day passed as I watched the vast expanse of nothingness.

Then something felt off for a moment before we heard the tell tale noises from the other side of the arena. I had a feeling deep in my gut that someone was watching us.

“We’ve got a couple live ones here!” one of the smart ass chavs called from that side of the arena. Then we heard several shots fired and a series of growls and yelps, both human and not.

“Let’s go P!” Liam called as he grabbed my wrist and pulled us toward the sight of the attack. I had no choice but to run with him, not wanting him to break my arm from the force with which he was pulling at me.

The last time I’d seen an actual zombie it had been my mum. They’d never gotten inside the arena so I had forgotten just how grotesque they were. Their skin was torn off in huge chunks, still hanging onto some places. Where it hadn’t been ripped away, the skin was grey and smudged with blood. They wore the tattered remains of whatever they had been wearing when they’d fallen ill. Their hair hung in a mess of knots off their heads if they still had it. Some of them seemed to be injured as they limped and shuffled towards us. I swear I even saw one with its arm torn off and the bone exposed. They were in bad shape but they couldn’t remember how to be in pain. The worst part for me was their eyes. They’d yellowed and clouded over with blood vessels overly prominent in the corners.

Liam was quick to go into action. He fired off just the right amount of shots in the right places to take out two of them in mere minutes. There must have been at least twenty of them advancing upon our group of about five young adults. My first response once one began to charge toward me was to run around a corner and hide. I thought that I’d gotten away until I saw another coming straight toward me. I knew I’d be done for if it got to close. This group was hungry. They were looking for a meal and weren’t going to leave anyone with the dreaded single bite it took to turn someone into one of them.

As much as I didn’t trust myself to do so, I knew I had to shoot my attacker. My hands shook as I raised my gun to the ready. I flicked off the safety and did my best to aim at its heart. I took a deep breath before finally pulling the trigger. I braced myself for the sound of the shot and the kickback but neither came. My gun had jammed somehow which sent me into a panic. My attacker was a few meters away. Tears welling up in my eyes I began to scream, hoping that someone would come to assist me. But no one came and I was staring into the eyes of the zombie getting closer to me.

It didn’t wouldn’t have been able to realise what was happening to it if it had the time because the shot had come from behind it. The corpse fell only a few steps in front of me as the result of being shot in the back of the head. I saw the shooter in an instant. He was quite far away but I could see enough of him to tell that I had no idea who he was. He smirked at me as he lowered his gun, proud of his shot.

My head quickly whipped around to see if anyone had noticed but they didn’t. When I turned back he was still there, reloading his hand gun. I wasn’t being watched so I committed and took off running in the direction of my saviour. He quickly realised what I was doing and didn’t seem to protest. He just slowly backed away as if to get out of view but still wanting me to see where he was going.

I followed him around the corner of a building where I found him lighting a cigarette. “I know you,” he said as smoke escaped his lips.

“No you don’t,” I replied. I examined this strange boy. He had dark hair and dark eyes. I already could tell from his accent that he wasn’t from London. The sleeves of his leather jacket were rolled up to reveal a set of tattoos including one that said “zap” on his arms. “Thanks.” I added once I returned to looking at his face.

“No problem love,” he bored into my eyes for a moment with a very intense gaze before beginning to look me up and down, “I’ve seen a picture of you,” he added as he continued to puff on his cigarette. I didn’t have to say anything to let him know of my confusion. “I’m sorry but I can’t remember where it was.” He did seem genuine in his response.

“So you’re one of the rebels aren’t you?” I asked quickly trying to diffuse the odd tension that had seemed to form between us once he couldn’t place the picture.

He laughed at my question, “They’re calling us rebels?” to which I nodded. “Well whatever we are, yeah I’m one of them,” he stuck his cigarette between his lips and spoke from the side of his mouth, “I’m Zayn.” He held out his hand for me to shake which I did.

“Hello Zayn,” I nodded to him after releasing his hand. My heart was still racing but I’d caught my breath. He was slightly taller than me so I had to look up at him, which I think he enjoyed.

Flicking his finished cigarette to the pavement, he turned, “So you’re coming with me then?” he stepped on the butt with the toe of his trainers before he started to walk.

“What makes you think that?” I refused to follow him and stood my ground.

He turned back to me eyebrows raised, “I assumed you risking your life and running towards me meant that you didn’t want to be stuck in that arena anymore.”

I tried to think of some kind of response that didn’t let him win so easy, opening and closing my mouth in almost words. But he had been spot on in his assumption. In surrender I sighed, “It did.”

This time he offered his hand, “So come with me then.” He began to guide me through the now abandoned streets of the city. We didn’t speak again until we approached the entrance to what had once been a tube station, “five years of evolution and they still haven’t quite figured out stairs.” I chuckled at his comment as he led me down the stairs.

There was a collection of tents set up on the platform with people scattered about them, none of whom I recognised at first. “It’s not much but it’s home for now.” Zayn then went over to a gathering of three other boys who sat laughing with each other.

One of the boys with a mess of brown hair looked at me through dazzling blue eyes, “Oh no, Zayn’s bringing back strays now.” He and the other two boys then laughed which was one of the most beautiful noises I’d heard in ages.

“ _She_  ran to  _me_ ,” Zayn defended himself as he slipped inside of the tent.

The taller, thin boy with slightly curled brown hair then chimed in, “Why’d you do a thing like that love?” He seemed quite interested in my response given the way he looked at me.

I swallowed hard as I thought of a good reason but all I could come up with was, “I was bored.” This caused the boys to rouse in laughter again, especially the blonde. They were obviously judging me severely and I couldn’t stand the thought of them jumping to conclusions about me after having only just met me. If I was going to work out in the rebel society we had to get on well. “I’ve been in the camp at the O2 for five years” I added to clarify.

“I can see why you’d be bored,” the blonde replied through the remains of laughs. He then took a sip of beer from a bottle which he then returned to be sat at his feet. I knew then that he was Irish.

“So can I” Zayn said as he emerged from the tent. He’d removed his jacket to reveal a thin shirt that dipped low enough to reveal some kind of chest tattoo. I noticed the two brunettes with their own collections of tattoos including chest pieces as well. As Zayn zipped the tent closed I noticed a fourth person lying inside of the tent but I only caught a short glimpse. I couldn’t even tell their gender from what I’d seen. “She’s staying,” he added to the boys as he sat down.

“Oh, well in that case, I’m Harry,” the tall one smiled at me showing off dimples in his cheeks.

“So if she wasn’t staying was you’re name John or something?” the other brunette with the blue eyes gave Harry a look like he thought Harry was absolutely mental before shaking his head, “Sorry love. I’m Louis”.

“and I’m Niall,” the blonde raised his beer bottle to be as he spoke then took another swig from it.

“Hi,” I replied, trying to remember their names, Zayn, Louis, Harry, and Niall. The collection of names was oddly familiar to me but I couldn’t place its origin. “Thank you for letting me stay” I added, truly meaning it.

“It’s nothing love.” Louis gave me a sweet grin, “What’s your name then?”

As he finished speaking my attention was pulled to the entrance of the tent which was being unzipped from the inside. Once I saw the person doing the unzipping I figured that I actually had gone crazy after spending five years locked up. But once he spoke I wasn’t sure anymore.

“Paige. Her name is Paige,” he started, obviously upset at seeing me, “she’s my sister.”

 **A/N** Please Please Please let me know what you think!!!! 


	2. Chapter 2

Knowing how upset he was, I stopped myself from running into Aiden’s arms. He held his jaw tightly as he looked over me. We hadn’t seen each other in almost a year and it showed in both of us. He’d gotten into better shape as displayed by how tight his t-shirt was on his biceps. He seemed hesitant to approach me because I didn’t look so much like his baby sister anymore. I saw his dark brown eyes look sceptically at my tattoos which I’d only gotten within that past year. Once he stood close enough for me to truly see into his eyes, he breathed out a cold phrase, “What are you doing here?”

Hearing his voice again caused tears to prick at my eyes. “You’re alive,” my own voice was weak and quiet as I forced the words out. Part of me still didn’t believe that it was really him.

I’d always been very close to Aiden, especially since losing mum. He was only three years older than me, making him 22 now. In the camp he was the only person I spent more time with than Liam. He’d always been an insomniac so every so often when he couldn’t sleep he’d find me and we’d walk around the arena, just talking. Though he’d never admit to our father having shout mum, he resented him. Aiden and my father fought constantly mostly keeping things about strategy. _Why do you think we get attacked so often? We’ve been in the same place for four years, they know where we are!_ Aiden always thought we should’ve been nomadic because he knew that, despite no longer being ‘human’ the zombies could learn.

Once Aiden had died in my father’s eyes, my dad put him on to a pedestal. He only thought of the aspects of Aiden of which he approved. He’s scold me if I brought up their fights or the possibility that Aiden wasn’t actually dead. It was easier for my dad with Aiden dead.

As I lifted a shaky hand to tough Aiden’s face, he pulled it away with his hand gripping my wrist. “Why are you here?” he asked again. But I still held his eyes which showed a different type of concern and fear. I’d never seen my brother so afraid.

I couldn’t bear to look in his eyes anymore so I broke away from his gaze, my eyes finding Zayn’s. The four boys watched or exchange with apprehension and shock but Zayn’s eyes told me that I had to explain to my brother why I’d run away.

“We were attacked,” I replied in short to Aiden’s inquiry. To be honest, I’d grown frustrated with him. He hadn’t seen me in a year and this was how he was treating me. He didn’t deserve to know that I ran away because I was looking for him. I struggled to re-establish eye contact with him after I answered. His look pressed for more details. “We were under attack and Zayn saved my life so I ran to him.” Maybe Aiden would believe that I’d come because I was grateful that Zayn saved me.

Whether he believed it or not, Aiden wasn’t accepting my answer, “Are you fucking insane, P?” He was sent into a frenzy and began to berate me, “You could’ve been infected! What were you doing in a situation where you could be attacked in the first place? What about dad? He’ll go mental once he finds you gone. What about Liam?”

My breath was caught in my throat and I squeezed my eyes closed fighting back tears. I was meant to be strong now. I couldn’t cry just because my big brother was scolding me. I was unable to create words with which to respond to him. Exhaling, I opened my eyes, looking away from Aiden. That was when I noticed how suddenly attentive our spectators had become.

In my peripherals I saw Aiden shaking his head in frustration before he too noticed the way the boys looked at us. Harry was the first to speak, “did you say Liam?” his deep voice shook as he spoke.

Aiden scrunched his dark eyebrows in confusion, wondering why that name could be important to Harry. “Yes,” Aiden replied as he ran a hand through his dark brown hair.

Louis was quick to jump in, “Liam who?” his voice was wrecked with concern and an odd sense of hope.

It was clear that Aiden didn’t want to discuss this with them so I found myself answering Louis, “Liam Payne.” I was quiet, still finding it difficult to speak.

Once I had pronounced the final syllable of his name the boys’ faces all lit up. They somehow knew who Liam was and hearing his name seemed to have lifted an invisible force off of their shoulders. “He’s not dead,” Niall looked about the group excitedly and Harry and Louis seemed to reciprocate his excitement. Only Zayn looked concerned. “He’s still in the O2?” he questioned looking to me for some king of solace.

“What’s it matter?” Aiden had grown frustrated with losing my attention, “the point is, Paige, that you left him and Dad! You ran away!” he shouted at me.

Suddenly, I found myself unable to stop tears falling from my eyes. His words struck a chord in me, one that had never played a single tune before. “So did you!” I shouted before I knew what I was saying. Only now did I realise what Aiden had done to me a year ago. He’d abandoned meat the camp with our father who didn’t understand for a second how much I hated it there. “You left me Aiden. I was terrified without you! I thought you were dead or infected! I didn’t know what to do without you. And I never got to say goodbye.” Now the tears were flowing freely down my cheeks and I started beating into his chest with my fists. I was overwhelmed by the feelings that I had pushed away for so long.

“You were  _meant_  to think I was dead,” Aiden’s voice was level despite being hit repeatedly.

“Why?” I shouted, “Because that’s easier? How is losing my brother easier? I’ve already lost so many friends and my mum! What made you think I could handle losing you too?” I was appalled at the ease with which the words leapt out of my mouth. I’d stopped hitting his chest, having gained an odd control over myself. I slowed my words as I continued, “But you know what? I knew that you weren’t dead. Eventhough that’s what you and everyone else wanted me to believe, I didn’t. That’s why I asked to be put on to guard duty today. That’s why I ran when we were attacked. I came looking for you!”

I stood there, staring at him, my chest heaving for a moment before I could not bear to look at him any longer. My whole body shook and I didn’t want to be there anymore. That was when I found myself walking toward the stairs that lead out of the station.

It wasn’t until my hand was on the railing leading up that I felt myself being pulled back. I froze without turning around, being quite sure that Aiden had stopped me. “Where are you going?” once I heard his voice I peered over my shoulder at Zayn. His hand rested on my shoulder and his face was twisted with concern.

I took a deep breath, “Back to the camp,” I replied turning back to look at the way out. My eyes still stung from tears but they no longer crawled from my eyes. I, then, realised how badly I had needed to cry and how nice it felt once I finally had.

“Why?” Zayn stared from behind me, “because you had a fight with your brother?” he added, his voice dripping with sarcasm. I spun toward him tentatively, my eyes finding his hoping for sympathy. His hands shaking ever so slightly, he pushed a few hairs behind my ear. Once there, he ran his hand down to cup my cheek. “Aiden had shown us a picture of you,” his eyes searched my face, like he was only then realising how different I had looked in the picture, “it was an old picture but that’s why I recognised you.”

Aiden had always kept a camera charged using the minimal electricity we still had. I never really understood why. He’d snapped a picture of me the day before I left.  _I never want to forget my beautiful sister._ I didn’t understand at the time why he’d said that. I saw him printing something that night and couldn’t help but notice him crying. I had planned to ask him about it the next morning but then he was gone.

“Aside from his gun, that picture was the only thing Aiden had with him when we found him,” I knew that Zayn was trying to make me feel better and remind me of how much Aiden loved me, but his words didn’t help me. “He had said that he never wanted to forget…”

“…his beautiful sister,” I finished the line for him as I found myself putting the pieces together. Maybe he was trying to say goodbye that night. Realising this only made me feel guilty about yelling at him. I peered over Zayn’ shoulder to see that Aiden had gone to talk to another group of people who gathered about some kind of table. I looked back at Zayn who still watched my face with worry. “He’s right,” I spoke quietly, “I shouldn’ have left my dad,” I shook myhead before turning my head to the ceiling as i felt the pricks of new tears in my eyes, “or Liam,” i added under my breath.

With that I turned to start up the stairs, still dead set on leaving. I didn’t notice Zayn’s breath hitch as I said Liam’s name. He pulled my wrist, keeping me from continuing up the stairs, “I can’t let you out there alone, Paige”. I sighed in annoyance before turning back toward him, it’s too dangerous. “

I searched for an argument, though I knew he was right. I mustered the only thing I could think of, “you were out alone,” to that, his lips pulled into a smirk and he started to laugh.

“That’s different. I know how to handle myself out there.” He continued to grin as he spoke. I wasn’t so amused, in fact, I was annoyed by his light chuckles. He noticed this but only rolled his eyes before adding, “besides, I had a gun”.

I started to open my mouth to say that I too had a gun but I realised then that I didn’t. The only thing i had with me was the novel in my pocket. I’d thrown my gun down at some point between its jamming and my running to Zayn. I exhaled in slight surrender though I still felt that I had to go back because Aiden really had been right. I abandoned my dad and he’d lose it if he thought I was dead. But almost more importantly, I’d abandoned Liam. “I made a mistake,” I hadn’t meant to have said it out loud but i had and Zayn heard.

“Did you though?” His hand was still on my wrist but he softly moved it to my own hand. He held it in both of his hands as he spoke, “you ran to me because you wanted to. How could it be a mistake if it’s what you wanted?” I got the vibe that Zayn was a bit of a romantic given his words and the way he touched me when he talked.

Not wanting to get caught up in his blind romanticism, I pulled my hand away from his clutch. In exasperation I pushed my hair from my face and held my head for a moment, “I abandoned Liam”.

Zayn was caught off guard by my use of Liam’s name. I watched as a number of emotions flickered across his face, ending with a look of hopelessness. “You know him. Don’t you?” I found myself absentmindedly rubbing his bicep to comfort him.

“Yeah,” Zayn breathed with unease, “he was one of my— our best mates,” but even while speaking about Liam, Zayn seemed sad. “We hadn’t seen him since that summer before everything went to shit. I figured that he had died.” That was when i finally made the connection. I suddenly understood why the collection of names was so familiar to me. Louis, Niall, Harry, and Zayn. They were the reason for the arrows on Liam’s arm. He thought they hadn’t made it and they believed the same about him. But there they were, minutes away from each other, all this time. Knowing that broke my heart.

 **A/N** Right so I’m considering doing a flashback to when they found Aiden and/or a segment of Liam’s POV of like his reaction once they find Paige gone. The flashback would either be Zayn or Aiden’s POV. I’m not sure. I just don’t want these little segments to take away from Paige and ultimately Zayn as the main characters if that makes sense. Just let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** Sorry it’s been so long since my last update. I’ve been busy/ uninspired. I’m still having trouble with what I want to happen in this chapter because I know what I want to happen later and I’m trying to figure out how to get to that point. One thing’s for sure, this chapter will be in Zayn’s POV. I’ll notate that in a second for the people that don’t read author’s notes or if you forget.

*Zayn’s POV*

It had been five years since I had last seen Liam but suddenly I was overwhelmed by a rush of memories with him and the other boys. Things had felt so right when the five of us were together. The outbreak only made it more apparent that things weren’t as they should have been. But knowing now that Liam was alive stirred something in me. I wasn’t sure exactly what to make of it. I just knew that I need to see him. We all did. Even just a short moment with Liam would be enough of a light in this world that had grown so dark. Paige of course had no comprehension of Liam’s meaning to us but I could see that he meant a lot to her.

I had found that people had become less emotive over the time spent without normalcy. Everyone had built up their own little shell to help themselves through things. It would have been too much extra to actually feel everything that happened. We’d lost family members and friends. If we took the time to dwell on our losses then we would end up just like them. These days we all had to be strong if we were going to survive.

But seeing Paige and Aiden interact was enthralling. I hadn’t seen that much emotion out of anyone in years. Once they had let themselves actually get upset about each other’s predicaments I could practically see the flood gates burst open to expel five years’ worth of pent up emotions. Standing before Paige I could still see the last puddles of distress sitting in her eyes as she tried to stop herself from crying again. I held her gaze for a moment longer, taking in each fleck of colour in her eyes.

I had to break our connection because of how broken she looked. I couldn’t look at her without risking a kink in my amour. Just hearing about Liam had been enough to feel slight rumble of cracks forming in my shell. The other lads needed me to be strong more than ever. They’d each let themselves get excited about Liam and I hadn’t because there was still a chance that we couldn’t get to him and if I let myself be happy then it would’ve been too easy to let myself be torn if we had lost him.

Once I had looked away from Paige I took stock of the scene over my shoulder. The boys all seemed ecstatic as they leaned in close to each other to speak, every so often reeling with laughter. I checked the other shoulder and saw Aiden stood at a table with some of the other men. They had their eyes trained to a map on the table’s surface. I didn’t have to hear their conversation to know what they were discussing. We’d been in the tube station for too long and we all knew it. It was time for us to move again so they were looking for where to go.

I turned back to Paige who looked at me sympathetically. Perhaps I had shown an infinitesimal amount of evidence about my feelings with Liam and that’s why she looked at me this way. She placed a shaky hand on my forearm which had come to rest on the railing of the stairs. Sighing she looked up toward the exit once more, “All this time,” she started as she returned her eyes to looking into mine, “he’s been in the arena with me. All this time, you’ve thought he was dead and he’s living and breathing and surviving, hoping that one day he could go out into the real world again. Hoping one day he could return to the solace of the piano bench. Hoping that one day he could see his friends again.” Tears had found their way out of her eyes again as she spoke but she didn’t seem to notice as she shook her head. “I hate how things work this way.” Her words were peppered with the shadow of laughter.

“Don’t we all?” I found myself saying. I let my lips pull into a slight smile as I reflected upon the terrible bit of humour in the nature of things.

She took a step up which for only a moment had me worried that she had returned to her attempts of leaving but she spun and sat on the step. Her fingers laced through her hair as she rested her elbows on her knees. I saw her body shaking in what I had assumed has been the start of another outpour but I soon found her to be laughing. “What is so funny?” I lowered myself before her, my hand still on the rail beside us, hanging me there.

With quiet giggles she found my eyes again, “I’m not sure.” She shook her head more, as her giggling turned to actual laughter. “Everything?” she added letting her hands rest on either side of her. It was a nice respite to hear Paige’s laughs after seeing her so torn only moments before. Just from the way her face took on a smile I could tell that she had once been very happy but hadn’t been so in a long time. But whatever sorrow she had taken on had been more than the emotional shift that had occurred in everyone after z-day. Listening to her light laughs I found myself craving to know more about this practical stranger sat before me. What had made her so torn and why had I seen the same evidence in her brother.

Most of us had lost our family before joining the tribe. I had lost my entire family in house fire caused by a riot in the early days of the infection. Harry’s family had been taken in for testing while the scientist had still be looking for a cure. Louis’ sisters had come with him to the tribe when his parents had been caught in a cross fire. And Niall hadn’t a clue of the fate of his family because he wasn’t in Mullingar on Z-day and hadn’t been able to get back since.

Aiden never told us what his story was just that he had been living in the O2 at the camp and he had a sister whom he’d shown us a picture of. No one felt the need to press him for more details because it only mattered that he had become one of us now. He was quick to take charge when leadership was needed and it was apparent the he’d taken in his training at the camp. It took us days to get him to actually open up to us but he still avoided conversation about family.

_The day Aiden came to us was like any other day in London. The skies were grey as rain fell in its normal pattern onto the pavement. I had stepped out of the theater to have a smoke and had started to wander off a bit. We’d been living at the Apollo Theater for a few weeks and given that we’d noticed some of the corpses circling the area it was getting to be time to relocate camp._

_I always loved my moments of solidarity when they were attainable. I’d taken up smoking before everything happened but I found that it helped me deal with it all. I loved the taste of the chemicals in my mouth and the scent it left on my clothes. Once the shops had been abandoned Niall helped me acquire enough fags to fuel my addiction for at least a few years. My stache had dwindled so I found myself easing back never able to completely quit. I need those times where I could get away for a few minutes and blow away all the stressors of the times._

_I’d drifted a ways down the road from the theater but I could still see it well from over my shoulder. I continued to walk as I hummed to myself. I couldn’t remember what the song had actually been but I knew that I had listened to it constantly when I still had electricity. Now the only music I had was that of Niall’s guitar and boy’s harmonies over it. I had always had a burning passion for music. We all did which was a big part of why we had gotten so close._

_All the while I kept myself on alert. I knew it wasn’t safe to be alone but I had a gun and I was within shouting distance of the others. If I was faced with only one zombie I could take it out easily but any more than three would be a challenge alone. I pushed the idea of getting attacked to the back of my mind and I continued to check down each alley I passed and listen closely for any strange sounds. But alone on the abandoned streets, it wasn’t hard to get lost in my own thoughts._

_After what had felt like only a few paces I heard the sound of someone in serious pain. My head whipped back to look at the theater which had grown quite small behind me but the sound wasn’t coming from there. The sound lead me round a corner to the entrance of a tube station. Still following the sound I followed it down the steps. The lighting was low so I couldn’t quite tell what was before me. The sounds were surely human but these days you couldn’t be so sure. I considered approaching but my thoughts were cut off by another loud groan of pain._

_“Hello?” I called praying that the victim still had the capacity to speak. I was answered by another groan. “Are you alright?” I took a few more hesitant steps toward the shape now sat hunched on the ground._

_“No” I could barely make out the response through the laboured breaths and hisses of pain. “I don’t think I am.” His voice remained strained but he was making an effort to form coherent sentences._

_I knew that I was faced with a human so I allowed myself to lean down toward him. I found his eyes in the shadows to be filled with standing tears. “What hurts?” I asked as I tried my best to measure his injuries. He held his leg so I isolated it to there but that was the most I could conclude without a better look._

_“I think it’s broken” he grimaced. Though I didn’t know who he was I had to help him. We had never encountered a human in the open once the camps had been locked up. Sure if we were in the area we saw some standing about the perimeter of the O2 but that was the most we saw of anyone other than our tribe. For some reason now I found a man injured on the street with no evidence of a fight or attack. Something was seriously wrong with finding someone in such a state._

_The only thing I could think to do was run my hand over his leg before I made a choice, “You need to get this looked at.” I started as I returned to standing. “Come with me and we’ll have someone check it out.” I offered him a hand though I knew that if he were to stand plainly my hand would be of no use to him._

_“Where?” He didn’t take my hand and hung his head trying to take deeper breaths._

_“My camp is at the Apollo. It’s just down the road. You think you can make it?” this time I motioned to help him up but he refused to budge._

_“There wasn’t a camp at the Apollo. The only one in London was at the O2.” He shouldn’t have been saying so much given how much work it was taking him to breathe. The location of my camp must have been important to him if he was wasting the air to ask about it._

_“We’ve been moving about.” I answered in short. Even if laws or social norms were no longer relevant I still knew that the idea of a nomad tribe was frowned upon. The only people the government had chosen to acknowledge were the ones in the official training camps. If you weren’t lucky enough to be in one you technically didn’t exist. But still, government acknowledgement wasn’t critical whilst fighting for your life during a bleeding zombie apocalypse. “We should really go.”_

_This time when I tried to assist him he obeyed. He allowed me to wrap an arm around his shoulder and the other around his torso still holding him to my side. He struggled greatly with the stairs but it wasn’t too terrible once we reached the surface. He didn’t speak again until we were finally within the theater’s lobby. We were greeted by Louis, Niall, and Harry who appeared to be on their way out._

_“There you are Zayn!” Niall called once he saw me. He was obviously relieved and given that Louis and Harry had lost their urgency it was clear that they were about to go looking for me._

_“Who’s this?” Louis indicated the man in my arms who could barely stand anymore._

_I opened my mouth to give him an answer but I realised that I didn’t know the name of my patient. I resorted to explaining that I was taking him to see Penny, the woman who’d become more or less the tribe’s mother, because he had injured his leg. The boys helped me the rest of the way to where Penny had her make shift infirmary set up._

_“What’s this?” Penny was alarmed at the sight of the man in my arms. I could tell now that he was around Louis’ age which perhaps made him a boy but given the way he was enduring his pain, he could be called a man._

_“His leg may be broken.” I answered quickly as I helped to situate him onto the bed in the centre of the area. He hissed as we assisted him in pulling his leg straight in front of him._

_Penny pursed her lips as she examined his leg. Now in sufficient lighting I noticed the blood seeping through his trousers and I could only imagine its source. She worked to roll up his trouser leg at the ankle but held his eyes with hers, speaking kindly to him, “What’s your name love?” as he opened his mouth to answer the started to move his head to look at her hands but she quickly found his chin and lead his head to face hers again. “Look at me dear. What’s your name?” She knew that if he saw his injury it would only make it hurt more._

_His breath was still laboured as he spoke, “Aiden”. I could see him shaking whether it was from the pain or not I was unaware._

_She didn’t ask any more questions until after she treated his wounds and gave him some water. “What happened then?” Penny’s voice was warm as she spoke over the rim of her mug. Like a true Brit she still need her tea. I would have thought this was insane if I too hadn’t my own superfluous need._

_Aiden had gained control of his breathing through the time that Penny took to nurse him so when he spoke I finally heard his true voice. “I was running and I thought I saw one of those things coming after me so I took to the tube entrance and I managed to trip down the steps.” He spoke like he once had the privilege to live without care of things in the world. Like he hadn’t a worry about tomorrow and only craved the excitement of the present. But he no longer had that blissful ability and he hated that._

_Harry knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, “But why were you running?” the other boys had grown very fascinated with Aiden as soon as we hit the doors. His was their first new face in years and they struggled to understand why it was here._

_In response to Harry’s question Aiden laughed a bit to himself, “you know the camp at the O2 arena?” He looked about the group at his bed side, his brown eyes filled with wonder. We each nodded and allowed him to continue. “Well I was running away from there.” He paused for a moment almost as if he was waiting for us all to be out raged by his admission. “There was an attack so I took advantage of the chaos to make my great escape.” He smirked proudly._

_“But why would you do that?” Louis did nothing to mask the tone in his voice which made it blatantly clear that he found Aiden’s actions entirely mental. Louis never was one to hide his true feelings about someone. If he had an issue with someone it was clear as crystal to both the person with whom the problem was and everyone else who cared to know._

_Aiden shrugged in thought, “I guess I just had to get the fuck out of there.” He stated it plainly as if that was a sufficient explanation. I wasn’t buying that but I felt that it wasn’t my place to press any further. He was still injured and weak, we should have been letting him rest but the other lads, and Penny even couldn’t pull themselves away. Aiden was quite charismatic once he regained his poise in a way that I could only describe as cheeky._

_“But you could’ve been eaten.” I had found that Niall was the only person I knew comfortable with explaining the zombies’ actions as they were. The disease had given its victims a taste for human flesh and they actually ate those they attacked though everyone seemed hesitant to admit that._

_“As long as they don’t give me that damn sickness I’m alright with being eaten” at some point during the conversation, Aiden had come into possession of a small card which he fiddled with absent-mindedly with as he spoke. Once the card had caught my eye I couldn’t pull my thoughts from it._

_I’m sure to the others my remark seemed out of place but it went directly with the track of my mind. “Is that a photo?” I had gotten to that conclusion after he’d flipped it over a few times and I noticed the glossy, coloured side of the card._

_Aiden gave me a look as if he was confused so I nodded towards his hands. He then realised what I meant and smiled a bit, “yeah it is”. He then looked at it for a moment, “I know a photo seems so insignificant but it’s the only thing I brought with me.” He handed the photo to me as he spoke, “I just never want to forget my beautiful sister.”_

_The photograph was of a girl around my age with auburn hair in waves about her face. She hadn’t been prepared to be photographed so her amber eyes looked above the lens where I assumed Aiden had been. She wasn’t quite enrapturing but I found myself staring at the photograph of the beautiful nameless girl. My heart ached for my own sisters but I pushed thoughts of my family away because I couldn’t change their absence anyway. “She’s alive?” I brought myself to say._

_“Yes she is.” Aiden had grown a little less proud with those words. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of the fact that his sister was alive but that he truly would miss her._

_“Why didn’t you bring her with you?” I had handed the picture to Harry once I felt myself getting almost too worked up in memory of my sisters. Harry had said numerous times that he wished he could have changed his own sister’s fate but he seemed at peace with the loss. He could think back on fond memories in sweet nostalgia when many people would be brought to the brink of tears at those very same thoughts._

_Aiden swallowed hard and it was clear that he had grown very uncomfortable with the subject matter. “It was spur of the moment really. I didn’t think it through.” He then spoke quietly as he pulled shields himself. He closed himself off from further conversation about his family in fact most conversation that night. The change in him was entirely visible. It was like he shrank right before our eyes. “Is it alright if I stay?” he directed his question to Penny._

_“It’s going to have to be isn’t it?” Penny strained to lighten the mood but we’d already lost Aiden to someplace dark within his mind._

_“Thank you.” He nodded to Penny with respect then turned to Niall who handed him the photo which had then made its way about the group, “cheers mate.” He said reluctantly as he pocketed the photo._

_It was Louis who urged us all to let Aiden alone and let him rest. Louis was lucky that his sisters were still with us but I still noticed the way the picture of Aiden’s sister affected him. His blue eyes became like the sky as night approached. Slowly growing darker with the coming end to its day._

_Just as we put the infirmary behind us I stole a glance at Aiden. He had withdrawn the photo and held it to his chest. His eyes were closed and his lips were pulled tight. It we had been closer I could’ve sworn that he had been crying._

Now the girl from the photo was sitting right in front of me laughing. This time her face didn’t make me sad in remembrance of my sisters but it gave me hope. Even if Aiden didn’t seem too pleased about it, he’d been reunited with his sister and if that was possible in this wasteland then perhaps there was hope for the rest of us. Listening to Paige’s laughs I set my heart on seeing Liam.

Just as I felt myself getting caught up in Paige’s presence and almost letting myself get lost in laughter I heard a guttural sound from above with which we’d grown all too familiar.

 **A/N** it is quite long but hopefully that makes up for the wait. I will try to update quicker this next time. It won’t be until the week after next but that’s still quicker isn’t it? I am still thinking of doing a Liam’s POV thing back at the camp but I’m not entirely sure. Let me know what you think! Please tell all your friends about this cause it’s damn good if I do say so myself. I’m sorry. That was dumb. 


	4. Chapter 4

** Chapter 4  **

**A/N** Sorry it’s been a while. I’ve been somewhat stuck on all of my fics so I’m sorry if it’s not very good. This chapter is back in Paige’s POV. In fact, the whole thing is in Paige’s POV unless otherwise specified

I’m sure he didn’t realise it, but the way that Zayn just let me fall into mindless laughter made me feel like I could trust him. I still had so many questions for him but after spending these last few moments with him, I wasn’t dead set on leaving anymore. But the way he looked at every mere mention of Liam, I knew that we couldn’t leave him at the arena any longer.

Liam wanted to get out just as much as I did but he was less vocal about it. Every so often he’d say something that would make it all too clear. And the way he gazed out into the open when he was on guard, he wasn’t quite watching, so much as wondering. But he would never let himself get caught up in the possibility of freedom. He always told me that he didn’t expect to live to see the end of the zombies. He said that he’d die in battle or of old age even but even when he said those things I still searched for that whisper of hope. Maybe it wasn’t actually there, but I always thought that I could hear it. It wasn’t quite as loud when he was talking about the future but it was deafening when he hummed.

Sitting there with Zayn as I let out the last bits of laughter I started to imagine a means to see Liam. But if I let myself get away with my imagination I knew that I’d start crying again and I was already much too drained. I never did have to stop myself from getting lost in the thought because of the sound that echoed down the stairs. It pulled both of us out of our minds and back into reality. We recognised it the moment we heard it and it sent Zayn running away from me and toward the others. I followed with a similar urgency.

We were already loading our guns when the second noise came. This time it was much louder which meant one thing. They had finally figured out the stairs.

Loaded guns in hand, Niall started toward the approaching creatures. I wanted to pull him back but I knew I couldn’t. We’d been conditioned to fight them, even outside of the camp this held true. He grinned as he started firing off shots blindly. The other boys were quick to join him but Zayn held back. He watched quietly from just behind them.

A number of others joined in the fight which only proved to me that I too had to join. I searched the table on which the guns were lied out and chose a rifle much like the one I’d been trained to use at the arena. I started for the crowd, trying to tune out the shouts and snarls but I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder.

“Wait.” Zayn kept his voice low and I could barely hear him over the battle. He seemed so sure of his actions but in that moment I wanted to hate him.

“Wait?” I shouted back turning to look at him, “No. We fight. You’re friends are going to die, or get bitten because you didn’t help them fight.” Roughly, I pulled my shoulder out of his grip and turned to engage. Before I could even take a step, I heard a bullet go whizzing past my right ear and watched it hit directly between a set of yellowed eyes. I didn’t have time to process its face before the corpse fell to the ground.

“I told you to wait.” Zayn shouted. I say that he was shouting because of the way his face contorted as he spoke however, it sounded just above a whisper. I didn’t have to lift my hand to my right ear to know that it was bleeding, still I did so. While my hand was at the level I snapped my fingers just next to my ear but heard nothing. The shot over my shoulder had damaged my ear drum enough to render me with deaf in the ear. But I didn’t have time to dwell on it as I watched Zayn go powering past me. Something had finally driven him into battle.

With that I took to the fight as well. By the look of it, the fight was winding down, only three of the original ten zombies remained active. They each were being riddled with bullets none of which were aimed in the proper spot to do the trick.

Louis and Harry were faced with one that appeared to have been a young girl in it’s past. Yellow, matted ringlets surrounded the head which was set at a sickening angle and its contorted body was adorned with the remains of a Sunday dress. I pushed the thoughts of who she may have been to the back of my mind as I made haste toward the boys. She wasn’t some one’s daughter or sister any longer, _it_ was a mindless killer.

A mindless killer who’s mouth was alarmingly close to Louis’ arm. Just as its mouth snapped at the bird on his forearm I lifted my gun. Its teeth didn’t make contact with his inked skin but he recoiled at her attempt. “Oi!” he hollered, “no ma’am!” then he kicked his assailant in the stomach while laughing to himself.

I pushed away my disgust at his tendency toward humour in this situation and aimed at the zombie’s head. “Shoot the head!” I called out to them finding myself hesitant to actually pull the trigger.

Harry’s head snapped in my direction, pulling his focus away from the zombie. In his moment without focus, the corpse took another snap, this time at Harry. I didn’t even know that I had pulled the trigger until I heard Harry yelp and jump back. The bullet had hit it just before it could dig its teeth into the flesh of Harry’s shoulder. The body fell toward him but he jumped away before it could make contact.

Harry shouted something as he and Louis ran toward me but my head clouded as I scanned the scene. There were no longer any active zombies and Zayn was crouched on the ground in front of something. Dizzily, I started for him, ignoring Harry and Louis who’d reached my side. Black spots swam in my sight and my legs felt more and more like rubber with each step I took. Once I was close enough I could tell that Zayn was crying.  

Every sound was muffled, even if it wasn’t on my right side and I felt myself falling forward. I didn’t want to let myself fall but there was nothing I could do to stop it. I reached my hand out for Zayn’s shoulder but lost my strength the moment I touched him. With that I fell to the ground and was faced with a world of black.

*****

My sight returned before anything else. For a moment I lied there paralysed, unable to hear or smell or feel a single thing. Aiden looked down at me mouthing things, his face twisted in a mixture of distress and relief. Behind him was an almost blinding lamp pointing down at me. I found myself amble to move my hands around enough to gather that I was laying on something somewhat smooth and soft. Then came movement in my neck, which allowed me to search all of my surroundings. To my left was a woman hunched over a table covered in a mess of what could have only been medical supplies. To my right was a bed. On the bed laid Niall, around him Harry, Louis, And Zayn their faces wrecked with concern as they watched his chest rise and fall. Soon my nose was filled with the mix of something putrid and rubbing alcohol.

Lastly, sound zoomed back into my ears, like I was coming out of a tunnel. It was almost deafening but the sudden burst of noise filled me with relief. “She’s awake!” Aiden shouted, his eyes flitting about the area. Soon, Zayn and the woman joined Aiden at my bedside.

The woman pursed her lips as she scanned my body, “Paige,” she started, “can you hear me?” I nodded. “With both ears?” she added. But she was right. I could hear her with both ears. I knew that I had lost hearing in my right ear from Zayn’s shot over my shoulder but now the sounds on either side of me were clear as crystal.

I nodded again as I pressed myself up on my forearms, “How?” I looked at the woman, who’s lips pulled into a proud smirk.

“I have my ways.” She winked. “How are we feeling otherwise?” her tone was light like a mothers but something told me that she didn’t have any children of her own. Her hair was pulled back with a clip allowing grey to show at the roots in a way that only made her seem wiser. Her eyes crinkled as she smiled at me.

I swallowed hard as I reflected upon the state of the rest of my body. Physically, I felt fine, but my mind raced with thoughts, of seeing Aiden, and leaving Liam, and shooting what had undeniably been a little girl in the head. “I’m alright,” I managed. The last thing I could remember doing was looking at Zayn after shooting the cadaver that had been biting at Louis and Harry. Everything after was a blur, “did I pass out?”

It was Zayn who answered this time, “Yeah. Shock I think.” I looked at him and it was obvious that he’d been crying. He didn’t keep his eyes on me for long periods of time because he kept peering over at Niall. Once he met my eyes I didn’t have to say anything for him to know what I was going to ask. “During the attack,” he struggled and licked his lips trying to get out the next bit of his statement, “He was bitten.” With the end of his response cold rushed over my body.

The woman and Aiden seemed shocked when I jumped off the bed. Once at Niall’s side I noticed the bite taken out of his shin. Louis and Harry both looked at me as if to gage my response but I hadn’t an idea what to think, “Oh god.” I had just met him but I knew that he was their family and that bit of empathy was enough to tear me apart. “What—“ I couldn’t manage more words. There was nothing I could say that could help them. There was nothing I could do to fix this. And some stupid part of me felt like it was all my fault.

Zayn placed a hand on my back as if to comfort me but it all felt wrong. Niall wasn’t mine to lose. If anything I should’ve been comforting Zayn. I turned to him and all I could think to do was pull him into a hug. At first his body was rigid, like he wasn’t sure what to do in my embraced but in a moment he relaxed into me. “I’m so sorry,” I breathed into his chest.

He pulled away from me still holding onto my arms. His eyes bored into mine, “why are you sorry?”

“He’s been bitten.” That was enough to send me into a rush of words, “That’s how it’s spread. Just one bite and you get infected. And now, Niall.” I could barely breathe, “Oh god. Niall. He’s going to—the infection rate is 100 percent, Zayn.” But the look he gave me didn’t seem so convinced. “Pretty soon, he’ll—,” I couldn’t bring myself to say that he’d be a monster. He wouldn’t be Niall anymore. He’d forget who his friends were and who he was and there’d be nothing left of him. Tears started to prick at my eyes but I fought them back. It still wasn’t my place to get emotional.

“No its not.” Harry’s voice was low and laboured. He looked up at me from where he sat at Niall’s bedside, his green eyes catching the lamps’ light making him look like an innocent child. The way I looked back at him allowed him to understand my confusion at his statement, “The infection rate. It isn’t 100 percent.”

“Haz—,” Louis started. His face was awash with worry as he gazed at Harry. Whatever it was that Harry was trying to say, Louis knew I wouldn’t take well. The way he studied Harry’s face made it clear that he didn’t want Harry to do anything that could lead to him seeming wrong. Like in Louis’ eyes, everything Harry did was right and he only wanted everyone else to understand that.

“No, she should know.” Harry cut him off. For a moment he looked Louis in the eyes, as if to tell him that he knew what he was getting himself into. Louis seemed to understand and let Harry turn away, even if he didn’t like what could happen. Harry then took a breath like he was about to start a long winded explanation but I never gave him the chance.

“Know what?” I was floored at his words, “What do you mean the infection rate isn’t 100 percent? Everyone that gets bitten gets sick.” I said the words because I was sure they were true. However I didn’t have much off of which to base my assurance. I hadn’t seen many people get bitten but everyone I’d seen had become afflicted or had been shot before the virus could take over. And although it was a very small sample of people I had no reason to believe anything different could happen. That’s what they preached to us as well, _the only thing faster than the toxins in a bite is a bullet from a gun._

“No they don’t” this reply hadn’t come from Harry as I had expected. It came from the person standing just beside me. Zayn.

 **A/N** It’s sort of short and I’m rubbish at writing action, I’m sorry. I’m also sorry about Niall. He’s not dead though so there’s hope. I may or may not be implying a little bit of Larry. It’s really up to you if you want it to be a thing or not. It’s not crucial to the plot at all really. I’ll try to update sooner next time. While you wait, why not check out my other fics, prefs and one shots? Please let me know your thoughts on this though. Any feedback is good feedback.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** Sorry it’s been a really long time. I’ve been super busy because school started and I had to move into my dorm and what not. Plus I kept getting stuck while writing this. I really tried to make this a proper good length but it’s kind of short and for that I apologise.

But just the way that Zayn had said it had almost been enough to break my heart. With his words I turned to look at him and he was giving me a look like whatever turn conversation had just taken had lead him straight to a painful memory. His eyes seemed to glisten and the corners of his mouth turned down. When I responded to him I kept my voice as soft as I could because he looked like he was on the brink of tears. I almost didn’t ask him but I had to know. If what they were saying was true and there was a way to protect someone from becoming inflicted, I need to know. The world needed to know. “How do you mean?”

Though he had been just beside me, he seemed to get even closer, looking into my eyes with remorse. He shook his head ever so slightly like he didn’t want to explain but given the way he swallowed hard, he knew that nothing would come of keeping this to himself. Whatever this was.

Zayn turned away from the group, taking a deep breath. It seemed that he had turned to take a moment to himself but I traced his eyes to Aiden, who still stood next to the bed that had previously been mine. Aiden appeared to give his a subtle nod just before Zayn turned back to meet my gaze. “It was early days, when the world was still in turmoil from the start of the outbreak. I was going to the shop with my sister,” then he paused for a moment to squeeze his eyes shut, “Doniya. We were walking to my car after leaving a shop and we passed this alley.” Each sentence grew increasingly more difficult for him to utter, “I hadn’t seen them before but a couple corpses emerged from the alley. We were attacked.”

Suddenly I realised how little I knew about Zayn. Before he had started his story I hadn’t even thought about how he had a family before all of this. He hadn’t seemed like a real person to me. Still sort of this ambiguous hero out of a film or something. And though he already knew so much about me and my family, I knew nothing about him. Now, here he was, almost breaking down while he explained this terrible thing that had happened to his sister. It was clear that she had died and I had gotten so caught up in how jaded Zayn seem that I had almost forgotten why he’d started the story in the first place.

Zayn’s eyes broke away from mine as he looked to Niall, “Luckily Niall was rounding the corner just as it happened and he saw the whole thing.” It was like Zayn wanted to smile at this thought but something was telling him that it would be inappropriate in this context, “So he shot the bastards. But not before one of them had the chance to bite Doniya. I didn’t even notice at first because Niall was there and I hadn’t seen him in months.”

As he continued he kept his eyes trained on Niall but his voice was just barely lighter, more hopeful even, “He told me that he had found this group of people who had a plan for this sort of thing. He wanted me to come with him but I still had my family so I had to stay with them.” In what appeared to be remembrance of his exchange with Niall, Zayn paused for a brief second before shaking his head and brushing off his thoughts, “Anyway, it wasn’t until I tried to lead us away that I heard her whimpering in pain and I noticed the chunk taken out of her side. She could barely walk so I had to carry her to my car and I took her to the hospital.” He took another deep breath and focused his eyes on me again.

“The place was filled with people rushing about. It seemed like everyone was crying and I still held my sister in my arms. She was shaking and I could feel her blood covering my shirt. I knew that I couldn’t wait for a nurse or a doctor or anyone to help her because at that point she would’ve lost too much blood. So I found some supplies that someone had walked away from and I dressed her wound myself. She seemed like she was going to be alright so I just took her home,” he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, giving me sight of his tattoos and I noticed several names laced through-out the ink on his skin. _Safaa, Waliyha, and Doniya._ I knew then that the other two must have been his sisters as well and my heart ached for him because I knew that he had lost them all at some point and it was all too apparent that it had been a result of the outbreak.

“My mum was the first one to even bring up the idea that Doniya should’ve gotten sick from the bite. Safaa had always watched too much tele and she had told my mum that the scientists had explained how the infection was spread on the news at some point. So my mum was instantly worried but the point is, that Doniya didn’t change. She stayed herself. It took a few days for the wound to heal but otherwise she was fine.” His last few sentences reminded me of why he had told me all of this but instantly I was filled with questions.

Before I could even open my mouth to ask Zayn answered my question, “We have no idea why she wasn’t affected by the bite. All I know is that I was immensely grateful that because I could’ve lost her that day and I didn’t.” then he added something almost too quiet for me to hear it, “at least not that day.” His face had grown distant for a fleeting moment but he focused back on me as he reached his conclusion, “But that. That’s what Harry means when he says that the infection rate isn’t one hundred percent.”

“Oh.” That was all I could say in response. Zayn has just relived a very personal experience for me and I couldn’t muster up anything better. I wanted to be able to comfort him but I was always shit at finding the proper thing to say to people when they were sad. But that’s what confused me about him. He had just told me that his sister survived a zombie bite, so why was he sad? Then my mind flicked back to the names on his arm and I remembered that Doniya wasn’t alive anymore. That’s how the human brain seems to work. When someone is dead you can’t even think of the happy memories because the looming fact that they’re gone forever over shadows any happiness you could be feeling.

“Yeah. Oh.” Zayn’s voice was low and dry. He was looking at me but his mind was somewhere else. Probably thinking about Doniya and the rest of his family. In a decisive movement, Zayn turned and started walking away. Something in the pit of my stomach hindered my ability to chase after him, like it knew that he need to be alone. I wasn’t going to press him for details though I yearned to understand the inner workings of his mind so I was content with letting him go.

The woman with us seemed to think otherwise. “Zayn!” she shouted and her booming voice caught the attention of everyone in the camp. She motioned for them to ignore her as she kept her gaze focused on the back of Zayn’s head. He had stopped so she knew his attention was her, “Where the hell do you think you’re off to?” This only confirming my thoughts of her being motherly, the way she scolded him how only a mum would.

Slowly he turned back to catch her disapproving glare before reluctantly walking toward her. He had withdrawn a few things from his pockets as he was walking, “I need a smoke, Penny.” He sighed, showing her the carton and lighter in his hand, his face still twisted in phantom sorrow.

The woman, Penny I assumed, continued to look at him with disapproval, “Are you mental? We’ve just been attacked and you’re going to go out there and have a smoke?” she kept her voice level as she gently berated him. “They know where we are and the scent of your fags is only going to draw more attention to us. Do you really want to do that, Zayn?” Her eyes searched his face for any sign of submission but found none.

The way Zayn knitted his eyebrows together made it seem like he thought that Penny herself was mental, “Of course not Penny, I’m not dull. I will bring a gun if that makes you feel better, I just really—,”

“I know you need a smoke. I really do, love. But I can’t allow you to go up there right now,” She sighed, like she’d known all along that Zayn wouldn’t be willing to go without. “If you need it that bad, do it down here. You can go down a ways or something, I just really don’t feel safe with you going out there alone. Armed or not.” Penny really was like their mother. Perhaps she had taken on that role to fill something within herself. Mothering them was effortless for her but she hadn’t her own children to mother so she watched after the boys.

Zayn drew in a sharp breath and responded quietly and biting, “you aren’t my mum, Penny.” Turning on his heels, he started away but he didn’t go up the stairs to the street, he just wandered down a bit, reluctantly obeying Penny’s wishes.

Watching Penny and even hearing Zayn speak briefly about his mother made me think of my own mum. She had never been very strict with me and Aiden, presumably because my father had been enough for the both of them. But she was very kind and happy, always happy. I don’t think I ever saw my mother upset, at least not before everything happened.

She had been an astronomer, so needless to say, her head was always up in space, thinking about the planets and the stars. The stars were her favourite. Her brilliant brown eyes would sparkle in wonder when she told us about the stars. Maybe the mixture of picturing my mother’s eyes and the stars was what brought ghostly tears to my eyes.

At that moment I realised how long it had been since I had actually seen the stars. We had spent all that time locked inside the arena, so I had only caught glimpses of them through the slits in the boarded windows. But even then I’d think of my mother, and how she had gotten in that fight with my father over the plans for the camps. _What about the stars? If we are held up in that damn arena we can’t see the stars. I can’t see my stars._ That was the first time I saw her breaking. As we packed up to get ready to leave for the camp her gaze always seemed to wander to the sky. They had stopped sparkling long before she was infected. As the thoughts of that last night, when she had snuck out to the garden to watch the heavens one last time before her imprisonment, started berating the gates of my mind I found myself absently running fingers over tattoos on my arm.

Aiden’s hand on my shoulder broke my focus, for which I was grateful. I knew that I had been moments away from truly crying once again and I knew that I couldn’t let that happen. No one else was in my mind, they wouldn’t have understood why this tiny interaction had made me so upset. So I tried my best to push away the thoughts of my mum and her stars then I turned to Aiden and gave him a weak smile. There must have been a trace of my emotions somewhere on my face because given the way he responded, it was like he knew exactly what I was thinking of.

It was the first time since we’d been reunited that I actually felt like Aiden was still my brother. I think it was hearing Zayn speak about his sisters that made Aiden want to comfort me. It was clear that Zayn’s story had affected him and I could feel his gaze since it had finished. He was watching me the way he used to watch things, like they were works of art that he’d never get to see again.

He stood beside me for a moment, scanning every inch of me. Brown eyes landing on my arm, he took my hand in his and turned me to face him properly. Lightly brushing his fingers over the star tattoos, he just barely smirked, like his suspicion had been confirmed. His voice was light and peppered with an almost childlike wonder when he finally spoke. “You know the best part of being out of that goddamn arena, P?” His question seemed to come from nowhere but there was a glint in his eyes that told me not to question it. “I get to see the stars.”

 **A/N** Like I said. It’s short. I’m sorry again. Plus it sort of started to ramble off at the end. I am pretty sure of where the go from here though. So that’s exciting. It will probably be a while before I update, just warning you. Please let me know what you think and tell all your friends about it and stuff. 


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